US man dies in first recorded Tesla Autopilot fatality

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday it is opening a preliminary investigation into 25,000 Tesla Motors Model S cars after a driver of one of the vehicles was killed using the Autopilot mode.

NHTSA said in a statement the driver of the 2015 Model S was killed while operating in Autopilot mode in a crash on May 7 in Williston, Florida. NHTSA said preliminary reports indicate the vehicle crash occurred when a tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla at an intersection.

Tesla said in a blog post that this is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated.

Puts all those crazy Youtube videos of people sleeping at the wheel of their Teslas into perspective now doesn’t it.

Autopilot is a beta feature of the Tesla range and as the article points out they are very clear about that when enabling it.

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